Treasure Trove
by Lina Cross
Summary: Several scenes involving an OC. I didn't want to bore anyone by rewriting the *entire* movie with only minor changes. Enjoy! R&R
1. Legacy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of its characters.**

**. . .**

Kate Wenslow looked around, staring in awe at all the makings of the RLS Legacy. She'd never been on such a magnificent ship before, and she couldn't believe she'd been able to negotiate her way on board. She backed up, staring at the rigging, when she collided with someone. "Oh! Sorry!" she said, spinning around to see... what seemed to be an illegally adorable boy.

"Here, let me help you with that." he said, bending down to pick up the spilled contents of her bag.

"Oh, no, it's..." she trailed off distractedly as she studied his features, then snapped back to reality. "Oh, no, um, it's fine, I got it." she said quickly, scooping everything back into her bag before he could touch any of it. "I got it."

He stood at the same time she did, smiling uncertainly. "Okay, well... you might want this back."

She glanced at the little metal box and quickly snatched it back. "Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks. Really."

"So... I'm guessing you keep to yourself a lot?" he said, looking at her as though not sure what to think.

"Oh, no. I do this and that, mostly with other people, 'cause it just kinda gets lonely when you're the only one doing something and everyone else is gone and you gotta – uh. Yeah. Babbling again." Kate looked away bashfully, slinging her bag over her shoulder. The two avoided direct eye contact for a moment, until she pushed her long brown hair out of her face and asked, "So... you got a name?"

"Jim." he said. "Jim Hawkins. You?"

"Kate Wenslow. Where did you come from?"

"I'm from Montressor." he answered, leaning against the ship's railing. "How about you."

She blushed. "Planet Bob."

He gave her a look. "No way. There's no such thing as Planet Bob!"

"Ha! Tell that to the Planet Bobians!" she laughed. "But, yeah, it's got another name. Earth Two."

His eyes immediately lit up. "Really? Wow, that's gotta be incredible." He leaned back, a dreamy look coming over his eyes.

"Yeah, well... grass is always greener." she said.

"Jim! Jim, come on!" called someone on deck.

Jim rolled his eyes. "I'd better go. I guess I'll see you 'round, huh?" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess." she said, walking the other direction.

He watched her go, thinking this trip might be even better than expected.

**. . . **

**Just a little side note; no, "Planet Bob" is not me being outrageously creative. It's a reference to Titan A. E., because these movies didn't have enough similarities. :)**


	2. Nighttime Fly

Jim leaned against the shrouds, having just finished mopping the deck. His mouth quirked up in a slight smile, the wind tossing his hair around.

"Psst! Hey, Jim!"

He turned to see Kate looking at him from behind a water barrel. "What?" he asked, unable to keep from grinning.

She smiled. "Come here! I gotta show you something!" She slipped away to the lower decks, so Jim followed her, wondering what he was getting himself into.

"What are we doing?" he whispered when they were in the hangar with the longboats.

"Look what I found." she said, motioning him over to where a tiny, old model of solar-speeder sat. It was light red with gold trim, and seemed to be used much less than the others, or else recently purchased.

"Cool. What's the point?" he asked.

"We're gonna take her for a spin." she said, climbing into the boat. "Come on, it seats two."

He crawled in next to her as she started the motor. "Won't we get in trouble for this?"

"Nah, only if we get caught!" she laughed over the noise. She hit a few buttons and the boat lowered out of the ship. "Now, let's see what this baby can do!"

Jim yelled out as she shoved a lever and the craft lurched forward, speeding past a necessary limit. "Are you sure this thing is safe?"

"'Course it is! Why else would it be on the ship?" she called back. Letting out a whoop of joy, she turned sharply and flew right through a cloud tinted orange by the setting sun. "Ooh, look! I've always wanted to see this!" Pulling up on a wheel-like device, she shot them straight up, right past the sun. There was no cloud cover, so everything was abnormally bright.

"Whoa! Back down, please!" he called, shielding his eyes.

"You got it!" They went below the clouds once more, seeing the oranges dim down and purples begin to creep into the skyscape. "Let's go faster!"

"Let's not – Whoa!" he yelled, falling back in his seat. They had to be hitting at least a hundred and ten miles an hour, maybe more. "Shouldn't we have seatbelts for this?"

"Jim, if you're too scared, we can go back!" Kate called over her shoulder.

"I'm not scared!"

"Good! 'Cause we're gonna race some Dragon Wings!"

"Wait, what?"

He stared at her, alarmed. Dragon Wings, while not particularly dangerous, were among the fastest avian species known to man. They also seemed to enjoy taunting people out on a boat, flying circles around them and essentially trying to goad them into a race. He'd never gotten the chance to do it, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Kate driving if he did.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by huge, scarlet birds with soft, silky wings. They were flying lazily, in no need to put on their speed at the moment. Kate slowed down, and one of the Dragon Wings looked at her with a large purple eye. It almost seemed to smirk before it took off. She grinned, and slammed the speed-control lever forward, following close behind the bird as the others joined. "Here," she called, handing him a rope. "Tie yourself down! You're gonna need it!"

He did as she said, making sure the knot was nice and tight around the little mast. She did the same, then followed what the Dragon Wing did to the letter. This included rolls, flips, twists, turns, and a number of other things done in the sky. Once he got over his initial fear of her crazed flying, Jim found he was actually having the time of his life, and Kate being the one with him only made things better.

Seeming to be through with racing, the Dragon Wings slowed drastically, making the two humans the center of the flock. By now, the sun had gone completely down, and the sky was like a jeweled curtain hanging over them. "I love this..." Kate murmured.

"I know." Jim whispered back, getting caught up in the slower moment.

"I mean... I live for this stuff." she continued. "I've always wanted to be up in the sky like this. So close to the stars I could touch them."

"It's a good feeling." he said, recalling his own antics on a home-made solar-surfer.

Suddenly, she was leaning against him, and, after an awkward moment, he found he was okay with that. He settled down against the side of the boat, and they both sat comfortably for a moment. "It's weird," she said quietly. "When you think about it, no matter where you are, people back home still see the same stars as you."

"That's not technically true." he answered. "What if you were in a different galaxy?"

"Why would you do that?"

The question gave him pause. "Uh... well, I don't know. Like, business travel or something?"

She laughed. "What kind of business would want you traversing galaxies?"

"I don't know, Galaxy Transit, maybe." he said, and they were both laughing. This was good. This was way better than good. Just this moment, being in the sky, looking at the stars, talking about things that didn't involve danger or pirates. It was a normal conversation surrounded by huge, red guardians.

As Kate was pointing out the different constellations, she sat up and looked at the dashboard. "Um, actually, I think we should be heading back. Don't wanna lose the ship or anything."

"Yeah, good point." he agreed. "But, can we not break the sound barrier on the way back?"

She grinned. "Oh, fine. If you insist."

Soon, they were flying at a moderately fast speed towards the hangar, when her face changed to one of fear. "Uh, Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I know why this thing is never used."

He looked at her. "Why?" he asked carefully as they neared the hangar opening.

She looked at him, repeatedly squeezing something on the lever. "No breaks."

He paled. "Oh, no."

It was only a matter of seconds before they were headed straight for the wall, where they would be obliterated. "Abandon ship." Kate mumbled resignedly, and they both jumped from the boat as it slammed into the wall.

They looked at each other on the floor as crunching noises were heard, and, unable to help it, burst out laughing. They only ended when two pairs of black boots stopped before them. Looking up, they found themselves at the feet of a very irate Captain Amelia, the sounds of an engine dying in the background.

"Uh... I can fix that." said Kate just before they were hauled up by their shirts, courtesy of Mr. Arrow.

**. . .**

"I can't believe this." Jim groaned, scrubbing a particularly dirty dish. "It's bad enough I have to do this during daylight hours."

"Hey, at least we weren't told to scrub the bathrooms." Kate pointed out, admiring her reflection in a pot. "You know, this wind-blown thing works for me."

"Yeah, you're a model. Do you want to get out of here before tomorrow morning or not?" he asked, gesturing with a wooden spoon.

"Oh, fine." she sighed, getting back to the dishes. They both reached for a plate at the same time, blushing when their hands touched. They were both so startled they left them there for a moment.

"No hand holdin' when there's work ta do!" Silver called, having somehow sneaked up on them. Immediately, they retracted their hands as though scalded, looking away from one another. Jim was attempting to hide his flaming face as Kate grinned, looking down at her wash bucket while Silver dumped a new load of pans on their pile.

Unknown to both, the cook had a small, knowing smile on his face as he walked away, leaving Morph to make sure no other PDA occurred.

**. . .**

**Just a tip, imagine the flying scene while listening to either Over My Head by Lit or Cosmic Castaway by Electrasy. I listened to both of those while writing this chapter, so it was what the scenes were choreographed to.**


	3. Escape

"Ah, Jimbo..." said Silver carefully, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. He descended the stares to the galley, all the while Jim backing up. "Playin' games, are we?"

"Yeah," said Jim, anger and hurt plain in his voice. "Yeah, we're playing games."

"Ah, I see. I was never much good at games," Silver said quietly as the boy reached for an eating utensil behind him. "I always hate to lose."

"Yeah?" he asked, diving down. "Me, too!" The utensil pierced a hydraulic mechanism on the Cyborg's leg, causing it to malfunction. Jim ran as fast as he could to the bunks, where Kate was still asleep.

"Kate! Kate, c'mon, you gotta get up! Come on!" he said urgently, shaking her.

She groaned and opened her eyes, hair a total mess. "What? What's goin' on?" she asked blearily.

"We're about to die, that's what, let's go!" he said, already back on his feet.

"Um, okay. Just let me get my bag-"

"No time." he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the bunks. To his surprise, she resisted forcefully, finally managing to get out of his grip as she ran back toward her hammock. "Kate, come on!" he yelled, running back to her as she snatched something on a chain out of the hammock. He grabbed the back of her shirt, trying to pull her away.

"Just gimme a second!" she yelled, grabbing an object out of her bag.

"We don't have a second! Let's go!" He finally wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her away. Whatever it was she'd pulled from the sack was dropped, but she seemed to realize there was no going back for it. He still had his arms clamped tightly around her when he saw Scroop blocking the stairs. "Oh, no," he muttered. Kate squirmed out of his grip, grabbed his hand, and ran the other direction.

"Come on! There's another exit back here!" she said.

"You spent a lot of time in the corners, didn't you?" he asked, almost losing his footing.

She pulled him to a darkened part of the sleeping quarters, tugging him down. "Through here, come on."

"Where does it go?" he asked as they crawled through.

"Captain's state room. What's going on?" she asked.

"Silver and the rest of the crew are pirates." he said, anger coloring his voice. "They just want the treasure, and they're willing to kill all of us to do it."

"Well, that just figures." she hissed. "Why should we have an easy boat ride to an undiscovered planet and just _test_ this theory that the treasure's real? What's the point in actually getting where we want to go?" She muttered a little more as they crawled, then whispered, "Here. Amelia's state room. Don't bother being sneaky." Jim complied, shoving himself out of the passage after Kate.

"What – Mr. Hawkins? Miss Wenslow? What on earth-"

"No time. Captain, you're ship's full of pirates and they're taking it as we speak." Jim said quickly.

"Pirates? On my ship?" she asked, crossing to her gun locker. "I'll see them hanged!" She pulled out a gun and tossed it to Doppler. "Familiar with these?"

"Oh, I've seen – well, I've read-" Suddenly, the gun went off and hit something on the wall next to Amelia. "Uh, no. No, no, I'm not."

She rolled her eyes, then took the map out of the locker. "Mr. Hawkins, defend this with your life!" She tossed it to Jim, but Morph caught it first.

"Morph! Give that back!" he cried, tugging the ball from the blob's mouth.

"Here they come." said Kate, placing the chain she'd rescued around her neck. Outside the door, pounding and yelling could be heard.

"Oh, what do we do? What do we do?" cried Doppler, nearly trembling.

Kate, patience wearing thin, grabbed his gun. "Gimme that." She pointed it at the floor, shot it a few times, then handed it back. "Alright, we're outta here."

Morph was the last to go through the hole just as the door burst open. They ran through the passages beneath the deck, knowing the pirates would be coming soon. Kate and Jim were the first to enter the hangar, then Amelia. Doppler fell right as he made it to the doorway, so the captain dragged him out of the way as she closed the iron door. "Get to the longboats, quickly!" she called as she welded the locking mechanism shut with her rifle.

Kate and Jim climbed into the boat, followed almost immediately by the two grown ups, when Morph stole the map from Jim's pocket. "Morph! NO!" he cried, jumping out of the longboat.

"Jim! Get back here!" Kate called as the hangar doors opened. She leaped from the boat as the pirates burst in, guns ablaze. Grabbing the edge of the catwalk, she hauled herself up to follow the boy. A stray shot hit her arm, and she fell back on the metal. "Ah! Son of a..." She got back on her feet, seeing Jim and Silver each attempting to get Morph onto one of their sides. The poor shape-shifter seemed unsure of what to do. Trying not to think too much about the pain in her arm, she leaped forward, grabbing the map before it fell into the rope coil below. "Come on!" she yelled, grabbing Jim by the arm and dragging him as she ran.

"We're gonna have to jump!" he yelled, watching the longboat fall awkwardly out of the hangar. They ran straight off the bridge, aiming for the boat. The only one to actually make it inside was Kate; Jim clung to the outside of the boat, all his energy focused on not falling. Doppler managed to pull him back in just as Amelia opened the sails. "Parameters met! Hydraulics engaged!" she called, manning the controls.

"Here." Kate snapped, shoving the map at Jim.

"Kate, your arm!" he exclaimed, seeing the blood.

"Not our biggest problem right now!" she yelled, a laser bullet blowing their sails to shreds.

After that, the longboat shuddered violently and began a speedy descent to the ground. They crashed through what seemed to be giant mushrooms, being jerked around the whole way. The boat hit the ground and flipped over, launching Kate and the map away from the craft. As it slid about twenty feet, Kate landed, back against a rock, and blacked out.

Jim lifted the edge of the boat, rubbing his neck. "Ow," he muttered, looking around.

"My goodness..." said Doppler, standing and rubbing his back. "That was more fun than I ever want to have again."

Jim looked over and saw Kate against a rock, unconscious. "Kate!" he yelled, jumping over a piece of broken mast to get to her. "Kate, wake up! Come on!"

She stirred in his arms, blinking as her eyes opened. She groaned, shifting a little. "Well... that was certainly an exciting landing." she coughed, grinning ruefully.

"You okay?" he asked, looking her over. "What about your arm?"

She looked at it, as though just remembering the wound was there. "Oh, yeah... I think that fat one shot me when he was trying to hit the captain."

"Well, come on. I think there might still be bandages in the boat."

"Mr. Hawkins!" Amelia called. "The map, if you please."

"Oh, right, right," he answered, delving into his pocket. "Where...?"

"Here." Kate said, picking up the ball from the ground nearby. Jim reached for it, but the second he touched it, it turned soft and gooey in their hands. What the-"

"Morph!" he shouted as the shape-shifter cracked up. "Morph, where's the map?"

The tiny blob showed the map hopping into a pile of rope. Kate groaned as he yelled, "Are you serious? It's back on the ship!"

"Perfect." she muttered.

"Stifle that blob," Amelia commanded quietly. "And get low; we've got company."

They looked up, seeing another longboat flying slowly through the sky. The captain, crouched behind the boat, watched it. "We need a more defensible position." she said, pulling a gun from its holster on her hip. "Mr. Hawkins, Miss Wenslow; scout around."

"Aye, Captain." Jim said, taking the gun.

Suddenly, Amelia collapsed, Doppler catching her. "Steady," he said. "Now, let's have a look at that."

Kate, now on her feet, followed Jim as he exited the crash site, attempting to staunch her bleeding arm with a strip of cloth from her shirt.


	4. Escape Part 2

"I wonder, what exactly _are_ these things?" Kate asked, poking some tubular plant-like thing. It shrank away from her touch, and she backed off immediately. "Obviously not the social type." she muttered.

"Quit touching stuff." Jim said from the front. "We don't know what any of this could do."

They walked in silence through the greenery, keeping their eyes open for a hiding place. A few times, Kate could have sworn she heard something, but found nothing when she went to further investigate. Suddenly, Morph and Jim stopped, the latter pulling the gun from his waistband. "Okay, so you heard that one, too." she whispered.

"Shh..." he said, putting a finger to his lips. He looked down into a tangle of plants, keeping totally silent, when a bronze... _something_ jumped out yelling like an idiot. "Yaah!" Jim screamed, falling back as the thing crashed into him.

Kate stood back, wide-eyed. Morph took refuge behind her as she slowly figured out the thing looked like a robot.

"This is fantastic!" it yelled, smacking Jim in the head. "Carbon-based lifeforms come to rescue me at last! I just wanna hug ya and squeeze ya and hold ya close to me!" It hugged Jim tightly, swinging him around.

"Would you let go of me?" he snapped after three failed attempts at prying the thing off him.

"Whoops, sorry. Heh heh..."

"Jim... that... that's-"

"I – I – I've been marooned here for so long..." the robot interrupted, putting its arm around Jim's shoulders. "I mean, solitude's fun and all, don't get me wrong, but after a hundred years, YA GO A LITTLE NUTS!"

Morph turned into the robot, making a cukoo bird pop in and out of its head. Kate grinned, patting the shape-shifter as Jim gave the robot a "not amused" look. It backed off, looking apologetic. "Well, I'm, uh... my name is, uh..."

"Jim," she whispered. "That's a Bio-electronic Navigator."

"Yes!" it cried, pointing at Kate. "B.E.N! That's me! What's your name?"

"Jim." he said flatly, picking his gun up off the ground.

"Pleased to meet ya, Jimmy!"

"It's _Jim_."

"I'm Kate." she said, extending a hand. B.E.N. shook it wildly, causing her to wince as her wounded arm was jostled violently.

"Look, we're kind of in a hurry." Jim said, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her along. She threw him a grateful glance, holding her arm. "We gotta find a place to hide and there's pirates chasing us-"

"Pirates! Don't get me started on pirates! I don't like them!" B.E.N. exclaimed, gesturing dramatically as he leaned against a rock. "I remember Captain Flint. This guy had _such_ a temper-"

"Wait, wait, wait," said Jim as he and Kate turned around.

"You knew Captain Flint?" she asked, slightly doubtful.

"I think he suffered from mood swings, personally, though I'm not a therapist in any way – you let me know when I'm rambling."

"But that means..." she said, eyes wide.

"You gotta know... about the treasure." Jim finished.

"Treasure..." B.E.N. said uncertainly.

"Well, yeah, Flint's trove, y'know? Loot of a thousand worlds." Jim said as Morph turned into a chest full of gold.

"Well, it's all a little- little- little- fuzzy. Wait. I re-re-remember. I do, I-" B.E.N. seemed to be malfunctioning, the effort of remembering the treasure being too much for him. "Treasure! Lots of treasure! Buried in the centroid- centroid- centroid of the mechanism! And there was this big door, opening and closing and opening and closing! And Captain Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever get to his treasure, so I helped him- naaaaaaah data inaccessible! Reboot! Reboot! Reboot!"

**SLAP**

Kate stared at Jim as the now stable robot leaned back. "Did – Did you just _slap_ a robot?" she asked.

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked.

B.E.N. seemed to come back to himself. "And you are...?" he asked them.

"But what about the treasure?" Jim exclaimed.

"I wanna say, 'Larry.'"

"But – but what about the centroid and the mechanism... thing?"

"I – I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. I've... lost my mind! Ha, lost my mind! You haven't found it, have you?" the robot asked, throwing Jim up against a tree and... patting him down.

"Uh..." he said awkwardly.

"My missing piece," B.E.N. continued, pointing at the back of his head. "Primary memory circuit."

"Look, Ben," Jim said, starting to walk away. "We _really _need to find a place to hide, so we're gonna be, uh... y'know. Moving on."

The robot looked disappointed. "Oh, uh... yeah. So, uh, I guess, this is goodbye, huh? I'm sorry that I'm so... dysfunctional." he said, going to his knees. "So go ahead. I, uh, I do understand. I do. So... bye bye."

"Oh, Jim," Kate said, grabbing his arm. "C'mon, let's keep him."

"What?" he whispered. "Are you kidding?"

"What? He could be useful. He knows where the treasure is." she pointed out. When he kept giving her his stubborn look, she widened her eyes and stuck out her lip, looking as pitiful as possible.

"Oh, no, not the – urgh..." He sighed, then looked back at B.E.N. "Look, if you're gonna come along, you have to stop talking."

"HUZZAH!" the robot cried, leaping up and immediately jumping into Jim's arms. "Oh, this is fantastic! Me and my best buddy out lookin' for a... a..." He faltered, catching sight of Jim's flat look. "Being quiet," he whispered, zipping his lips.

"And you gotta stop touching me." Jim added.

"Touching and talking," B.E.N. repeated, hopping to the ground. "Two big no-no's."

"Hey, Jim," Kate murmured as the robot went on. "We need to find somewhere soon. We're losing light, Amelia's in bad shape, and this is really getting annoying." She gestured at the bandage just under her shirt sleeve. Blood had soaked through, and at this point the cloth did nothing to help her.

"All right," he said, knowing she wouldn't get very far if they didn't get a proper bandage on her. "I say we start heading this way-"

"Say, listen," said B.E.N, reentering the conversation. "Before we go on this big search, would you mind if we made a quick pit stop at my place? It's... kind of urgent." The robot pulled back some greenery, revealing a tower on a hill.

"Ben," Jim said, laughing slightly out of relief. "I think you just solved my problem."


	5. I Got Your Back

By the time they got everyone to B.E.N.'s hideout, Jim was helping support Kate and Doppler was carrying Amelia. "Well, aren't we just a couple of damsels in distress?" Kate joked weakly, wincing. "Seriously, this thing hurts. Like, bad."

"I know, I know. Doc has some bandages, and we'll get you fixed up, alright?" Jim asked, looking at his friend.

"The way this feels, I think we're gonna need disinfectant, too." she muttered.

"Hey," he said, tilting her chin towards him. "I'm not gonna let you get diseased, okay? I'll fix this, trust me."

She smiled at him, the dying light of the sun filtering through the open doorway. He smiled back as he set her down, then looked to see what the others were talking about.

"Mr. Hawkins," Amelia said through gritted teeth. "Stop anyone who tries to approach – ooh..."

"Yes, yes." said Doppler, folding up his coat and setting it behind her head. "Now, listen to me. Stop giving orders for a few milliseconds, and lie still."

She smiled at him. "Very forceful, Doctor. Go on, say something else."

"Hey look! There's a couple more of your buddies!" cried B.E.N. from the entrance, waving his arms and jumping up and down. "Hey, fellas! We're over here! Fellas-"

Jim grabbed the robot and shoved him down as the pirates began shooting. He fired back a couple shots. But then they stopped, and he carefully peeked out the entrance, wondering what new trick this was.

"Hellooo up there!" called a familiar voice. "Jimbo?"

"Silver," Kate hissed, dragging herself over to sit next to Jim.

"No, stay over there," he mouthed, motioning forcefully back to where she had been.

"If, eh, it's alright with the captain, I'd like a short word with ya. No tricks, just a little palaver." Silver called.

"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless. Pestilential-" Amelia cut off as she held her side.

"Captain..." Doppler said reproachfully.

Jim suddenly smiled. "Then that means... he thinks we still have it."

Kate looked at him. "No." she said. "No way. He already tricked you into liking him, what do you think he's gonna do now?"

"Nothing," he said, handing her the gun. "'Cause I'm gonna have you here watching my back."

She held the gun, looking at him as though he were crazy. "Yeah, and exactly how well do you think I can aim when I'm dizzy from _blood loss_?" she hissed.

"Look, what else can we do?" he asked.

Kate didn't say a word. There really weren't many other choices. She nodded slightly, and watched him leap out of the entrance.

**. . .**

"Hey, Ben," Kate whispered, holding her gun at the ready as she studied the figures on the hill. "You got a – a spyglass or something?"

B.E.N looked at her and, after running through everything on his metal body (loudly), he shook his head. "That's alright," said Amelia. "I have one. Here." She reached inside her coat and produced a long, copper telescope. Kate crawled over and took it, then went back to the entrance.

"What's happening?" Doppler asked.

"Dunno, they're just... talking. Well, it's mostly Silver talking... Jim seems to be agreeing with him... Man, if only I could hear what they were say – uh oh. Silver must have said something Jim didn't like. Now he's circling that rusty Cyborg like a vulture." She watched for a few more minutes, then gasped.

"What? What is it?" Doppler asked.

"I – wow, I don't – it's Jim." she said, cringing behind the spyglass. "He's got this, like, _death glare_ going. You know that saying, 'if looks could kill?'"

"I know of it." Amelia said.

"Honest to goodness, this kid could bring down an army right now."

"That bad, huh?" asked B.E.N. "You know, I remember Captain Flint had a glare like that. Actually, it was mostly just his face, but, hey, tomato tuhmato, am I right?"

"Hey, sh sh sh sh!" Kate said, waving her good arm for him to quiet. "He's coming back."

Moments later, Jim climbed into the tower, looking livid. "What happened?" Amelia asked immediately. "What did he want?"

"He tried to get me on his side." he said bitterly. "Told me all I had to do was play my cards right and we'd both get the treasure. When I refused, he told me he'd blast us all with the laser cannons."

After a moment of silence, Kate handed him the gun back. "Well... I guess we're just not gonna let him get that far, are we?"

**. . .**

"Hold still." Jim commanded, wrapping the white bandages around her arm.

"It hurts!" Kate protested, wincing.

"I'm sure. They got a pretty good chunk out of your arm." He took a breath, mock-serious. "We might have to amputate."

"Oh, no!" she cried dramatically. "Please, Dr. Hawkins! I can't lose my arm!"

"Don't worry, ma'am." he said, comically deepening his voice. "You're lucky I'm so brilliant at what I – oops."

"OW!" she yelled, gripping her arm.

"Sorry," he said, smiling apologetically. "My hand slipped and it... yeah."

She narrowed her eyes. "You know, why don't you just get Doppler over here?"

"Relax," he said, gently taking up the bandages again. "You can trust me."

"Yeah, sure, _Dr. Hawkins_." she said, rolling her eyes. But she allowed him to finish tying off the gauze, despite his clumsy hands. "So, what's your plan?"

"Yeah, Jim," said B.E.N. "Any thoughts... at all?"

He stood and looked out the entrance, his face darkening and the bags under his eyes becoming more prominent. Now the fooling around was over, and they needed to get back to reality. "Without the map, we're dead." he told them. "If we try to leave, we're dead. If we stay here-"

"We're dead! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" exclaimed Morph, noticing too late that now was not the time for mimicry.

Jim turned back to the hole, Kate joining him. B.E.N. watched them for a moment, then backed up with Morph. "Well, I think that, uh, Jimmy could use a little _quiet time_, so I'll just slip out the back door."

Jim straightened up so suddenly that Kate's attempt to put her arm around him failed miserably. "Back door?" he repeated.

"Oh, yeah," the robot grunted, rolling over a massive ball. "I get this delightful breeze through here." He leaned over some sort of hole at the top of the ball, looking down with Kate and Jim. "Which I think is important, because ventilation, among friends..."

"Whoa..." said Jim as they stared at a mass of wires and cables. "What is this stuff?"

"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet?... Not a clue."

"Hey, Doc! Doc, I think I found a way out of here!" Jim called excitedly.

"No, no, Jim, wait!" Doppler protested. "That captain ordered us to stay tog-"

"I'll be back." he assured them, climbing to the top of the tunnel entrance.

"Wait, Jim," Kate said, eyes pleading. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" 

"Not exactly, but I'll get there." he told her.

"Then I'm going, too."

"Kate, no!" he exclaimed. "You're hurt bad enough already! I don't want you coming with me."

She glared at him, then took a steadying breath. "Fine." she said shortly. "But I need you to get my music box while you're there. Just in case we don't go back to the ship."

"What music box?"

She began making hand motions to describe the object. "It's small and black, old, and it's next to my bunk. It plays music when you open it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll get it for you." he promised.

"Good luck."

He forced a smirk. "Try not to miss me too much." And with that, he jumped down the hole, followed by Morph and B.E.N.

Kate turned back to Doppler, who had an irritated expression. "He _never_ listens to me."

She grinned. "Who knows? Maybe he'll win this thing for us." Looking around, she added, "I'd better go get something edible. I can avoid the pirates, since we know where they are, now."

"Just be careful." he said wearily. "We can't lose another person."


	6. Treasure Hunting

"Doc! Hey, Doc, wake up! I got the map!" Jim laughed, jumping away from the tunnel opening. He handed the little ball to the dark, hunched-over form on the floor.

"Fine work, Jimbo," said Silver, emerging from the darkness as he took the map. "Fine work indeed."

Jim looked over, seeing Doppler and Amelia bound and gagged. Kate was nowhere to be found. Three other pirates leered at him, clearly intending to tie him up.

"Thanks for showin' us the way in, boy!" one of them yelled as he made a break for it.

He struggled against Meltdown, the fat pirate, and Morph bit his fleshy tail. This did almost nothing, however, as the creature only cried out in pain and squished the little shape-shifter. By now, two pirate's had a hold of Jim's arms, and he was struggling against their hold.

"What's this sorry sack o' metal?" called another pirate, holding a knife to B.E.N.'s throat.

"Not the face!" he cried.

Sliver walked up to Jim, chuckling as he tossed the ball up and down. "You're just like me, Jimbo." he said, getting close to the boy's face. "Ya hates tah lose." He laughed maliciously, attempting to open the map.

But it didn't work. The Cyborg tried fingers, pliers, clamps and claws, but none of it worked. No matter what he did, the tiny sphere would not yield. He looked at Jim, who shook his head, giving a wry smile. Silver narrowed his eyes, thrusting the map at the boy. "Open it." he commanded.

Jim took the ball, glaring at the Cyborg. He made no move to open it, though; only curled his lip in disgust. Silver rolled his eyes and pointed a gun at his face. "I'd get busy." he said threateningly.

The boy looked over at Doppler and Amelia, her shaking her head and him nodding. Suddenly, a cry of, "Jim! Back off, you fat chunk of grafted metal!"

Kate burst in, standing in front of her friend, eyes narrowed. Jim looked at her, eyes wide, wondering why in the world she would do such a thing.

"Best be getting' out o' the way, Missy." Silver said darkly, gun pointed between her eyes. "Wouldn't want tah hurt yor pretty face."

She stood her ground, eyes cold and dark as she stared him down. Jim, knowing she wouldn't move on her own, shoved her to the side. "Get out of her." he whispered.

"I'm not letting you do this alone." she said. "Not this time."

"Moron, Oxy," Silver said casually. "Get her."

She tried to dive out of the way, but two of the pirates tackled her to the floor. "Ow, hey, watch it!" The Cyborg leaned down and pointed the gun at her face, looking up at the boy. "You might want tah get a move on that map, Jimbo. We don't got all day, ya know."

Knowing it wasn't just his own life at immediate risk, Jim conducted the sequence to open the ball, keeping his eyes on the traitorous sailor. The map flew out like magic, displaying an image of the planet. Then, suddenly, it turned into a glowing trail, which lead out of the hideout.

"Oh, the Powers that Be, would ya look at that," Silver murmured, smiling in awe.

Jim only marveled at the sight for a moment before he realized Kate was no longer being held down. He knelt next to her as she struggled to get off the floor with her bad arm. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"I'll be fine." she said, clinging to him. "Other problems, remember?"

"Right," he said, turning back to Silver and the other pirates.

"Tie him up." the Cyborg said. "And leave him with the others till we – what?"

The trail was vanishing, flowing back into the orb. The moment the last strains of it were in, it flipped closed. Jim looked at Silver. "You want the map; you're taking me, too."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "We'll take 'em all." he announced.

**. . .**

Kate walked next to Jim as they neared the treasure, a look of resolute hatred upon her face. She was still being held by two of the pirates, while he walked freely.

They made it to the end of the trail, only to find a cliff, and nothing else.

"Where is it?"

"I see notheeng! One great beeg steenking hunk of notheeng!"

Suddenly, the ball snapped shut, and Silver turned an angry eye to the boy. "What's goin' on, Jimbo?"

"I don't know!" he said, genuine fear in his eyes as he fiddled with the ball. "I – I – I can't get it open!"

"You know, I think it just doesn't like you." Kate said calmly. The Cyborg hit her, causing her to fall to the ground as another pirate pushed Jim.

"Hey!" he cried, landing next to her.

"What's it doing?" she hissed quietly as the pirates made threats.

"I don't know!" he said honestly. "It's not exactly telling me what to do from here, is it?"

She sighed irritatedly, looking around. "Wait..." she said, reaching forward and clearing some moss away. A small, perfectly round cavity sat in the rock, symbols and designs along the inside.

"You don't think..." he said, looking at the crater, then at her.

"Only one way to find out." she told him.

He placed the map in the small dip; it fit perfectly. Suddenly, a huge, triangular portal opened before them, showing strains of creamy white stardust.

"Oh, have mercy," said Silver.

"The Lagoon Nebula..." Jim said, staring at it in awe.

"But... tha's halfway 'cross the galaxy!" the Cyborg protested.

The boy looked down at the green orb full of small symbols before him, touching one. The triangle closed, then opened, revealing a new location. He repeated this several times, growing more excited as he did. "A big door... Opening and closing." He looked down and studied the symbols, seeming to be looking for something. "Let's see... Calyan Abyss... Montressor Spaceport."

The huge door closed, then opened again on a view of all the ships and creatures on the port at the time. He smiled, and Kate stood next to him. "So that's how he did it." she muttered.

"He used this... portal to... roam the universe, stealing treasure!" he said, pressing more symbols.

Silver suddenly pushed Jim aside, pressing symbols even more rapidly. "But where'd he stash it all? Where's... that... blasted... TREASURE!"

B.E.N., who'd also come along, suddenly straightened up. "Treasure... Treasure! It's... buried in the-"

"Buried in the centroid of the mechanism." Jim said. "What if... the whole planet _is_ the mechanism? And the treasure is buried at the center of this planet!"

Several of the pirates became excited, so they began attempting to break through the ground. The was a fruitless attempt, however, as they turned up nothing except damaged tools.

"And just how in the blue blazes are we supposed tah get there?" Silver roared.

"Yeah, Jim, I don't know if you've noticed," said Kate carefully. "But this 'planet' is made of metal. Like, all of it."

He looked at her, a slight smile on his face. "Hey, just trust me, okay?" He turned back to the glowing orb. "You just gotta... open the right door."

Suddenly, the triangle closed and opened again to reveal huge pieces of machinery turning and pouring some sort of energy downward. Jim went to step through the portal, but Silver held him back, stepping completely through himself. The boy followed, an angry look on his face and Kate close behind.

They all gasped, looking upon a huge sphere, the centroid of the mechanism, covered in gold and jewels and other various riches. The two humans hadn't even known it was possible for so many riches to be in one place at the same time. "The Loot of a T'ousand Worlds." said Silver as the pirates began to happily jump into piles of gold.

"You know," said Kate. "I could probably buy a million of those speeder things with this much gold."

Instead of going for the jewels, as the others, Jim looked around and spotted a ship in the midst of it all. "Come on." he said quietly, taking Kate's hand and pulling her towards it.

"This is all seeming... very familiar..." said B.E.N. "I c – I can't remember why!"

"Ben, come on." said Jim, climbing onto the ship. "We're getting outta here, and we're not leaving empty handed."

"B-but, Jimmy! Jimmy!"

Kate got onto the boat first, and as Jim helped the robot on board, she let out a small, terrified squeak before covering her mouth. "What, what is it?" he asked, whirling around. B.E.N. screamed, and nobody blamed him. Seated in a throne-like chair on deck was a massive skeleton wearing rich pirate's clothes.

"Captain Flint?" Jim said in surprise.

"In the flesh!" said B.E.N. as the boy went forward to inspect it. "Well, s-sort of, except for... skin, organs, or anything else that – that – that resembles flesh, that stuff there..."

Kate followed Jim, looking at something clutched in the skeleton's hand. "Hey, Jim," she whispered, pointing at it. "Think you can get it out?"

He went over to it and began prying it out as B.E.N. continued talking. "And yet, y'know, it's so odd, y'know, I mean, I remember there was something horrible Flint didn't want anyone else to know, but I-I-I just can't remember what it was!"

Jim pulled the object away from Flint's body, looking at it. He then looked over at the robot, the missing piece in his head more noticeable now that his back was turned. "Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose!" he cried.

"Ben, I – I think I just found your mind! Hold still." Jim said, grabbing hold of the robot's head.

"Jimmy! You-your hands are very, very cold! Ah!"

The metal piece was accepted by the stray wires immediately, and B.E.N. straightened up, streams of numbers and letters running through his eyes.

"You just fixed a robot." Kate said, impressed.

"Wasn't that hard." he said distractedly, watching B.E.N. with a smile on his face.

"Y'know, Jimmy," said the robot, data gone from his eyes. "I was just thinking – I was just think-" He jumped back excitedly, looking at the two humans. "It's all coming back! All my memories! Right up until Flint pulled my memory circuit so I could never tell anybody about his – BOOBY TRAP!"

An explosion suddenly rocked the entire planet, and the four (including Morph) on the boat froze. "Speaking of which..." said B.E.N. nervously.

"We gotta get out of here." Kate said tensely.

"Working on it!" Jim said, looking around frantically for anything that could be of use to them.


	7. Leaving

"_Why_ would Flint blow up his own treasure?" Kate called over the noise of the shaking centroid.

"He wanted to make sure nobody would ever steal his treasure!" said B.E.N. "So he rigged this whole place to blow higher than a Calypsian kite!"

Another explosion rocked the place. Several beams of energy were shaken loose of their ports, beginning to blast anything and everything in their path. "Run, Jimmy! Run for your life!" cried the robot, Morph hovering nervously beside him.

Instead, Jim ducked under the ship's control panel, attempting to get it flying again. "You go back to the ship and help the captain and Doc. If I'm not there in five minutes, leave without me."

B.E.N. yanked him out by his ankles, crying, "I am NOT leaving without my buddy, Jimmy!" But, when he caught sight of Jim's death glare, he changed his mind. "Unless he looks at me like that. BYE, Jimmy!" He took off and grabbed Kate's good arm to take her with him, but she pulled away, running forward to crouch down by the boy.

"Look, Kate, don't argue with me!" he snapped. "They need you over there!"

"Yes, fine, I got it. I'll go, just..." She seemed to be at a loss for words as she looked at him. Then, she took his face in her hands and kissed him. His eyes were wide, until he wrapped his own arms around her waist, knowing this was probably the last time he'd ever see her. "Don't you _dare_ die on me, okay?" she said, pulling away.

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "I'll do my best. Now get out of here." he said, releasing her as another tremor shook the centroid. She stood and made to run off the ship, when he stopped her. "Wait! I didn't get the chance to give this to you." he said, handing her the little black music box. She took it, nodded, and jumped off the deck, following B.E.N.

**. . .**

When they arrived at the longboat, Doppler and Amelia had already broken free, Meltdown tied up at the front. "Come on, we're getting back to the ship." Kate said, hopping into the boat.

"Where's Jim?" asked Doppler.

"He's... not coming yet." she told him, starting the engine. "But he'll be here. We just need to get the ship ready for an escape."

"You _left_ him there?"

"I didn't have a choice!" she snapped, turning sharply. "Let's just do what he wanted us to do and make it as easy for him to escape as possible!"

The others were silent, deciding it better to not question her at this time.

**. . .**

Back on the Legacy, activity slowed to a crawl as everyone decided what to do.

"We don't have time for this." Kate groaned as she watched the others argue.

"I will not have my ship manned by an amateur!" Amelia snapped.

"And you're in no condition to be driving." Doppler said forcefully.

"You don't even have the slightest inclination of the purpose of half the controls!"

"Maybe we should wait for Jim to come to us." B.E.N. offered.

"Using what? The trees? How would he get up here?" Doppler asked.

"Okay, you know what?" said Kate impatiently, stepping forward. "Doppler, you man the wheel. Captain, you sit _there_ and tell him how things are done so he'll have a guide. Ben and I will work the sails and get them ready. Everyone cool with that?"

They looked at her for a moment, and two out of three nodded. "Well, you don't have to get so snippy about it." Doppler said, trudging towards the wheel.

Completely losing her patience, she pointed a finger at the wheel and yelled, "_Just get to the stupid wheel_! Come on, Ben!" she snapped, grabbing his metal arm and dragging him along. Soon enough, the ship was moving and the sails were unfurled. The planet below was trembling and shaking from the explosions within it, causing their teeth to rattle (except B.E.N., whose bolts jangled and clanged).

"Hey, look! There he is!" the robot cried, leaning over the railing. "Aloha, Jimmy!" he called.

"Jim!" Kate yelled, throwing her upper body over the railing. "Get up here!"

"Hurry, people! We've got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds 'til planet's destruction!" said B.E.N.

As Doppler attempted to move the ship over, it bumped against the side of the cliff. It was enough force to almost knock Kate over the rail, but she managed to hang on. Jim and Silver climbed aboard, though Kate hadn't yet seen the pirate. "Jim!" she cried, running to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "I was sure you were gonna die."

She felt him sigh exasperatedly even as he hugged her back. "And how many times have I told you to trust me today?" he asked.

She pulled back a little to give him an apologetic look. "I know, but, y'know, explosions and stuff kinda make you pessimistic." He smiled at her, almost a cross between relief and... something else. She couldn't tell what, but she liked it.

"Oh, now, isn't this jus' lovely?" asked Silver, looking at the two.

Kate pulled out of Jim's arms and whirled to see the Cyborg standing there. "Get off the ship, Silver!" she snapped, stepping forward.

"No, hey, Kate!" Jim cried, holding her back. "He's fine, it's okay! He's the only reason I'm not dead now!"

She looked back at him, then to the pirate. "Well... whose side is he on?" she asked angrily, storming off.

Suddenly, one of the main sails was broken off by a piece of flying debris, causing the ship to shudder violently. "Pistons failed to mobilize, Captain!" B.E.N. called from the controls. "Thrusters at only thirty percent of capacity!"

Doppler looked up, an expression of concern on his face. "Thirty percent? That means we'll-" He looked over at Amelia. "We'll never clear the planet's explosion in time."

Jim looked down at some of the chunks of metal on the lower deck, thinking quickly. "We need to turn around!" he said, jumping down.

"What?" Amelia asked, shocked.

"There's a portal back there." he answered, running to the junk pile. "It can get us out of here!"

"Pardon me, Jim, but doesn't that portal open onto a _raging inferno_?" Doppler exclaimed.

"Yes, but I'm gonna change that," Jim said, straining as he pulled a piece of metal away. "I'm gonna open a different door."

Silver jumped down to follow Jim as Doppler turned to Amelia. "Captain, really, I just don't see how this could possibly-"

"Listen to the boy!" called the Cyborg.

"One minute, twenty-nine seconds 'til planet destruction!" B.E.N. called from the controls.

"Yes, thank you, Copper-Head, now I can count the _seconds_ to my death!" said Kate sarcastically, joining Silver and Jim.

"What do ya need, Jim?" asked the pirate.

"Just... some way to attach this." the boy said, indicating a rocket booster placed on the end of a strip of metal.

"Alright, stand back, now." Silver said, turning his mechanical arm into a blowtorch and welding the two together.

"You're leaving _again_?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I kinda don't have a choice in this one." Jim said, positioning himself on the make-shift solar-surfer.

She shook her head. "Okay, well, no time for a feel-good moment, so, get your butt off this ship and do what ya gotta do, I guess." she told him, stepping back.

He turned to look at her, a light in his eyes that she hadn't seen except just after they'd kissed. "I'll come back. I promise."

"I know, I know, I can trust you, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go!" she snapped.

"No matter what happens, keep the ship heading straight for that portal!" he told Silver, stomping on the starter and zooming off the ship.

"Fifty-eight seconds!" B.E.N. cried.

"Yes, _thank you_, Ben!" she snapped.

Silver whirled around. "You heard 'im! Turn this blasted ship around!"

Amelia gave him a surprised look, then turned to Doppler. "Doctor! Head us back for the portal!"

"Aye, Captain!" he said, spinning the wheel.


	8. Almost Death

"Come on!" Kate yelled, studying Jim's every move. "Faster! No – TURN! Oh, thank Heaven."

"Turn to the right! THE RIGHT!" Amelia yelled at Doppler.

"I know! I know! Will you just let me _drive_?" he snapped.

"TWENTY-FIVE SECONDS!" B.E.N. shrieked.

Finally fed up with the talking timer, Kate turned and hit the robot in the head with a piece of metal. "Will you _shut up_?" She turned back to watching Jim, then gasped in horror. "Jim, NO!" she yelled, watching him plummet into a chasm. "Oh, no, please, no!"

"What's happening?" Amelia called.

"Jim fell!" she answered, tears stinging her eyes. "He – he hasn't – hasn't come back up."

"Come on, lad," Silver muttered, leaning over the rail next to Kate.

"SEVENTEEN SECONDS!" B.E.N. yelled, looking like he was on the verge of mental breakdown.

Suddenly, a small form came shooting out of the chasm just in front of the Legacy. Kate gripped the rail, knees going weak from relief. "Oh, thank anything responsible for saving him." she whispered.

"Seven... six... five..."

Jim was flying low, trying to reach the green orb.

"Four... THREE... TWO..."

Kate was holding on so hard her knuckles were white. She braced herself, certain they would be killed. She closed her eyes, and an image replaced the burning world. It was Jim, smiling as they sat in the solar-speeder, surrounded by Dragon Wings. His face in the starlight as he laughed at his own joke. Such a peaceful moment, now with no one left to remember it.

"Kate, open your eyes!"

Her lids flew open and she watched Jim flying around, whooping crazily in his victory lap. Montressor Spaceport was close by, the remnants of the explosion fluttering around them.

"Ya did it, Jimmy!" Silver cried, high-fiving the boy as he flew past. "Didn't I say the lad had greatness in 'im?"

He landed on the deck amid the cheers of the others, letting the solar-surfer fall to the planet below. "Unorthodox, but ludicrously effective." said Amelia. "I'd be proud to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you."

"Just wait 'til your mother hears about _this_!" said Doppler, putting his arm around Jim. "'Course, we'll downplay all the life-threatening parts."

The boy laughed as B.E.N. approached, looking ecstatic. "Jimmy, that was... UNFORGETABLE! I know you don't like touching, but... get ready for a hug, big guy, 'cause I gotta hug ya!"

Then, to the utter amusement of Kate, Jim hugged the robot back, swinging him around like a rag doll. "Heeey... you hugged me back!" said B.E.N., stunned. "Oh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry!"

Kate approached as the robot left, wailing. She watched him go, still chuckling. "So, you're a big hero now, huh?" she said, leaning against the ship's side next to Jim. "Pretty far cry from the boy who couldn't do anything right."

His smile was huge as he looked at her. "Yeah... It feels good. But, I have to ask... Why were your eyes closed?"

She smiled bashfully. "I thought we were all gonna die."

He came forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. "When are you gonna learn to just trust me?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered, smiling up at him. "Maybe when we're _not_ involved in certain-death situations."

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, see, the thing about certain death," he said, voice lowering as her tilted her chin up. "It's not as certain as you might think."

She waited a moment before responding, smiling as she looked at the hand on her chin. "Are you gonna kiss me now, or are you gonna wait 'til later?"

He smirked, then brought her face to his, closing the distance between them.

**. . .**

Kate flopped back in her hammock, her bag of belongings sitting on top of her. "Jim," she said, looking at the boy on his own hammock. "You look totally beat. You should sleep."

"Can't." he said, stuffing the last thing into his bag. "We're about to land, and almost-dying is like a caffeine high."

She laughed. "Oh, well, in that case," She swung her legs down, a sad look creeping into her eyes. "I guess this is goodbye."

He halted as he went to stand up, giving her a look. "Oh, no. You're not getting rid of me that easily. You're coming with me to see my mom."

She looked surprised. "What? Why?"

"Because," he said, standing and slinging his bag over his shoulder cheerily. "If you come, she'll think all three of us are crazy, not just me and Doc."

Kate laughed. "Oh, is that why?"

He smiled and looked at her. "Well, that and... well, this is kinda embarrassing... I don't think you know this yet, but," He dropped his voice to a whisper as he leaned toward her. "I like you."

She looked mock-surprised. "Whaaat? Nah." she said dismissively.

"It's true. Watch, I'll even prove it!" he said earnestly, pulling her off the bunk and leading her to the exit. "I'll even hold the door open for you, look." He propped the door open as she laughed and pushed her through. "Come on, you're meeting my mom."

"Oh, fine. Since you held the door open for me..." she sighed, following him off the gangway. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," he said, looking around. "I think that's her, over there." He went up to a woman wearing a yellow bonnet. He touched her on the shoulder, and when she turned, he immediately smiled and hugged her. "Mom," he said, pulling back. "This is Kate. I was wondering if she could come home with us."

The woman looked at Kate, who smiled bashfully, uncomfortably aware that her own ratty clothes were awful compared to Mrs. Hawkins' blue-and-white dress. "I don't see why not." she said, smiling at Kate.

"Oh... thank you." said the girl sincerely as they moved away from the ship. "You know," she whispered to Jim. "Even though the Legacy is a boat from hell, I think I'm gonna miss it."

He laughed, then turned to his mom. "Man, have I got a story for you!"


End file.
